Drilling-rig



J. 1-. THOMPSON.

DRILLING RIG.

APPUCATION FILED SEPT. n, 1920.

1 ,396 ,47 3. Patented Nov. 8, 1921..

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A TTORNEYS INVENTOR UNITED STATES JOSEPH JAMES THOMPSON,

OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DRILLING-RIG.

Application filed September 11, 1920.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOSEPH JAMES THOMP- soN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drilling-Rigs, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention is an improvement in drilling rigs, and has for its object to provide mechanism for use in connection with the reel controlling lever and on which said lever is mounted, to hold the lever in the desired position, without the necessity of any attention on the part of the operator.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a drilling rig provided with the improvement.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the improvement.

Fig. 3 is an end view. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

' source or power, by

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the reel and its mounting.

The present embodiment of the invention is shown in connection with a drilling rig, consisting of the usual derrick 1 at whose top is mounted a pulley 2 over which passes a cable 3, one end of the cable being connected with the drilling tools indicated at 4, while the other end winds upon a reel 5. This reel has a shaft 6 which is journaled at one end in a fixed post 7 and at the other in the upper end of a swinging post 8 which is pivoted at its lower end to a support 9, to swing the reel toward and from the drive wheel 10, which is driven from any suitable means of the belt 11 or the like. This wheel 10 engages the one flange of the reel as clearly shown, and it is mounted on the shaft 12 which is journaled in the bearing brackets 13 on the base 14, which supports the reel. The reel is designed to be swung toward and from the disk or wheel 10. to cause the reel to be r0- tated by the disk, or to release the wheel, and a brake shoe indicated at 14 is arranged on the opposite of the reel from the Wheel 10, for engagement by the reel flange to brake the action of the wheel. Thus the reel is mounted to swing at one end between the wheel 10 and the brake 14, to cause the reel to be rotated to wind up the cable 3. or to release the reel to permit the weight of the tools to draw off the cable.

The reel is swung by means of a reach bar Specification of Letters Patent.

I Patented Nov. 8, 1921.

Serial No. 409,529.

or link 15 which is connected at one end to the shaft 6, the shaft being journaled in the link and at the other end to a lever 16. At the end adjacent to the lever the link has a series of openings indicated at 17, and anyone of these rings may be engaged by a pin 18 to connect the reach bar with the lever thus providing for adjustment between the lever and link. Referring to Fig. 4 it will be noticed that the link is forked at the end toward the lever, the arms of the fork engaging opposite sides of the lever.

With the usual construction of drilling rigs, no means is provided for holding the lever 16 in adjusted position, and when the driller swings the reel into engagement with the drive wheel 10 he must hold the reel in such position by means of a lever 16. Since wells are frequently 3000 feet or more in depth, some time is required to wind up this amount of cable, as the driller must control the unwinding movement of the reel by the brake.

I provide means for holding the lever in adjusted position. The said means is a latch in connection with the lever, and a toothed segment to which the lever is pivoted.

This segment 18 has a base 19 at its lower edge, by means of which it may be secured to a fixed support, as for instance the floor of the derrick and the lever as shown in Fig. 3 has a fork at its lower end, the arms 20 of the fork extending on opposite sides of the segment, and the said arms are pivoted to the segment as indicated at 21. A tooth 22 is mounted to slide in the body of the lever, and this tooth is connected to a latch lever 23 pivoted at the upper end of the lever 16. A spring 24 normally presses the tooth toward the segment and holds it in engagement with the teeth normally.

hen it is desired to wind up the cable, the parts are moved into the position of Fig. 1. and the lever is locked in such position. The driller may now turn his attention to other matters. If he desires to lower the tools, he will release the lever and swing it in the opposite direction. The reel now is moved toward the brake shoe, and it may be held midway of the brake shoe and the wheel 10, or it may be held in engagement with the shoe, to slow or check the downward movement of the tools.

I claim:

In a well drilling rig, the combination with the controlling cable and a reel on which the cable winds, a shaft to which the reel is fixed, a fixed post to which one end of the shaft is mounted to swing, a support spaced from the post, a swinging post pivoted to the fixed support and receiving the opposite end of the shaft for swinging movement in a direction substantially transverse to the axis of the shaft, a friction disk mounted at one side of the reel to be engaged 10 thereby when the reelis swung in one direction, means for rotating the disk, a brake shoe at the opposite side of the reel for engagement by the reel when it is swung in the opposite direction, and an ad'usta-ble throw lever having positive and ad'ustable 15 connection with the reel shaft for swinging i the latter and holding it in an adjusted po- 3 sition.

JOSEPH JAMES THOMPSON. 

